Palmtop Storage, Modems, and Other Add-On Hardware

PCMCIA Memory Cards

I use flash cards (MobileMax,
SanDisk), and a lot of them. My
200 used to have a 10 MB SanDisk aboard, but I am now using a Compact
Flash-to-PCMCIA adapter and have successfully used cards up to 256 MB;
right now I have a 32 MB card in the machine, which is more than enough
for all the software I keep around. I also have several smaller PCMCIA
flash cards (2-20 MB), and I still have several of HP's old 128 KB
SRAM cards; there's not much capacity, but they're occasionally useful
for quick backups away from home or work.

I have found one small problem with the very-high-capacity CF cards
(64 MB and up). I'm not sure why, but it takes Filer a few seconds --
noticeably longer than with the smaller pure-PCMCIA cards -- to read
the CF cards. I don't know if this is an issue with the CF card (as
opposed to the PCMCIA card), or if it's just that the 200 (or Filer)
is slow enough reading directories to be noticed. On the other hand,
it's very nice to have that kind of capacity in a Palmtop...

PCMCIA Modems

I have used an AT&T 14,400 baud card modem (now
discontinued, also) in my Palmtop with good results. NOTE:
apparently, modems (at least the PCMCIA kind) don't work well with the
Palmtops above 14,400 baud. The
EXP combination modem/flash memory cards are also very useful --
I recently bought (a used) one for myself, and it's wonderful (although
I do make a point of running with the AC adapter when I'm on line with
it or any other modem).

External Modems

Any Hayes-compatible external modem may be used with the Palmtops. See
your user guide for details. Generally, you need a Palmtop serial cable
(there are different cables for the 95LX and the 100/200LX) and possibly
a 9-pin-to-25-pin serial adapter (usually $5-6 at any computer store).
You should still use your AC adapter on your Palmtop when using the
external modem for any length of time, since the serial port also uses
a lot of power -- but then, you'll need to be near an outlet anyway to
power the external modem. One advantage of the external modem is that
the serial port, unlike the PCMCIA slot, allows speeds of up to 115,200
baud (I haven't actually tried plugging my Palmtops into an ISDN modem,
but I can't see any reason why it wouldn't work).